Expose'-The Third Album

           I try to smile so the hurt won't show.  Tell everybody I was glad to see you go.

By the summer of 1990, Expose' was the undisputed queens of pop and dance music, and were on a world tour to promote their sophomoric release What You Don't Know.  Then, tragedy struck:  Gioia began experiencing throat problems.  The group cut their tour short so Gioia could seek medical treatment and heal.  Ultimately, Gioia lost her voice.  Doctors would diagnose her with a benign tumor on her vocal chords.  Throat specialists had recommended surgery to remove the tumor, but if they nicked her chords, she risked the chance of permanently losing her speaking voice, not to mention her singing voice.  The risks were too high for her to consider surgery and talking had to be kept to a minimum.  For the time being, Ann and Jeanette decided to take time off and wait for Gioia to recover.  Be the end of 1990, it was  sadly apparent that Gioia wouldn't recover and Ann and Jeanette made the difficult decision to move forward with the search for a third member. 

The search began and ended with addition of Kelly Moneymaker.  The raven-haired singer hailed from Fairbanks, Alaska and was introduced to Jeanette through mutual friends.  Kelly had performed with a local Seattle band called Boy Toy.  The new incarnation of Expose' headed back once again to the recording studio to work on their third album.  With the unfortunate departure of Gioia, it was the perfect time for the producers to allow Ann to step up and and lead more songs on this new album, which was a welcome change.  

With the third album, there were more changes coming for the trio.  Arista label president, Clive Davis, took over as the Executive Producer duties from Lewis Martinee.  Martinee still wrote and produced four songs on the new album.  More important than that, the musical climate was changing on the radio:  R&B and Pop music were both being infused with House Music.  An example of the  biggest success of that at the time was Vogue by Madonna.  Furthermore, with the rise of a new girl group called Wilson Phillips, and this trio had tremendous success with power ballads entitled Hold On and Release Me.  These songs not only both peaked at Number One on the Hot 100, they had peaked at Number One on the Adult Contemporary charts as well.  The suits at Arista decided that Expose' should record more adult contemporary material on their new album, thus moving Expose' into a new arena.  After all, where there's smoke there's fire, right?   Expose' went on to record twelve tracks for their new album, entitled Expose, and four singles were released.

I Wish the Phone Would Ring:  I have clear, fond memories of this song.  I was driving to Sinclair Community College to attend class one autumn morning and I was listening to a local Top 40 station called Z-93.  The DJ's were saying they had a new release for the girl band, Expose'.  My ears perked up, and I instantly turned up the volume of my car stereo.  The opening chords rang out, and the familiar voice of Jeanette Jurado rocked this song.  It's interesting to note that Phone was not the uptempo number of What You Don't Know, or the power ballad of Season's Change; it was more of mid-tempo number.  Regardless, I loved this song from the outset.  I credit this song for making me want to purchase the new album.  I was a bit dismayed when I discovered that Phone would peaked at a mediocre number 28 on the Pop chart.  After buying the CD, it was then that I discovered that Gioia was gone and Kelly was in her place.

I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over me):   Remember this title? This is the one that Jeanette loved from their What You Don't Know sessions and it was dropped for Your Baby Never Looked Good in Blue.  Well, now was the time to unearth this gem.  Again, the song was fronted by Jeanette, and the lush, glorious background vocals by Ann, Kelly, and Jeanette.  The song rocketed Expose' back into the Top Ten, and settled at number 8, and giving Expose' their second gold single.  In addition, the song topped out at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.  I got the chance to see Expose' perform this song live on a late night talk show, the name now escapes me.  Regardless, hearing it live was a TREAT!

As Long as I Can Dream:  For Expose's third single, another ballad was released, hoping it would follow suit with the chart success of I'll Never Get Over You.  Finally, Ann had a single release that featured her lovely soprano voice.  Clear, strong, and radiant, Ann's voice just shines in the spotlight of this song.  Once again, all three ladies of Expose' provide some just stunning harmonies for the background vocals.  When the song was released, it chart a a dismal number 56 on the Hot 100.  For the first time in years that an Expose' single charted outside the Pop Top 40.  This is quite a shame as Ann really gave a performance on this tune.  That being said, the song peaked at number 21 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

In Walked Love:  Like its predecessor, In Walked Love was written by Diane Warren. For the last single release, once again Ann had the lead on this pop ballad and really turned in another stellar performance  Again, she lead this song with her typical style: full of confidence and strong voice.  When the song was released, it stalled at number 84, and fared a bit better on the AC chart at number 17. 

When Expose's eponymous album was finally released, it peaked at a very disappointing number 135 on the Pop Chart,  although it managed to be certified gold by the RIAA.  This is the first Expose' album to not chart inside the Pop Top 40.  In my humble opinion, Arista made a huge mistake by trying to force Expose' into the Adult Contemporary area.  With the loss of Gioia, Arista should have tried to reestablish the ladies with their club audience to regain their footing and not alienate the fans that had come to know Expose' as a Dance Act.  I think a thumping, energetic, extended club mix of one of dance numbers on the album, when remixed for pop radio, would have been a return to form for Expose'.  One criticism I have is that Ann and Jeanette share the leads on this album, and Kelly did not get one song to her credit.  Expose' was known in the past as having all three members take a lead on a song.  That was not the case here, and we never really got the chance to listen to Kelly show off her musical abilities.

As with past efforts, this album had some truly standout tracks that were sorely overlooked.  The first was I Think I'm in Trouble, the song that kicked off the album.  With its danceable beat and a standout lead from Ann made this track a true gem.  House Music was still all the rage in clubs, and I Think would have been a huge club hit for Expose'.  Another overlooked gem was the album closer, Give Me All Your Love.  Earlier, when I was talking about a massive club hit for Expose', this song was the one that I had in mind. Boasting a scorching lead from Jeanette, thumping bass hook, and a singable chorus, and not to mention a killer instrumental track.  I truly felt this song could have put Expose' back in business with their club audiences.  What's interesting to note is that Arista dd release one dance tune, but to the clubs only:  I Specialize in Love.  Originally a hit for Sharon Brown in the early 1980's, Expose's resurrected version charted at number 6 on the US Dance chart.  This song would also find its way onto Expose's Greatest Hits in 1995 in a remixed form.  Two other stand outs on this album were Angel, lead by Ann and You Don't Know What You Got lead by Jeanette.

After this album, Expose' was given a Greatest Hits release in 1995, and then was dropped by Arista in early 1996.  Ann, Jeanette, and Kelly went their separate ways to pursue other solo projects.  Gioia, through meditation and prayer, recovered her voice, as the cyst finally dissolved.  With her voice restored, she went on to perform with a band called Wet.  It would be years later when the ladies of Expose' would reform and play various dates.

As of this writing, there has been no expanded release of the album.  I hope that this album does get the re-release treatment that it so deserves.  A two disc set with alternate mixes or some expanded club treatments would fit the bill!

I have been so fortunate to enjoy the music of Expose, and to share my thoughts with other fans.  I am so thankful for each and ever one of you for reading these posts and to share in the joy that is Expose'.

If you have a music group you would like to see me blog about next, drop me a note and tell me why (if you pardon the pun).  I would love to hear your input!

Click here to listen to listen to a live version of I'll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)  Enjoy!